ORANGEVILLE, Utah — Cleanup is underway in Emery County after a massive surge of floodwater tore through communities along Cottonwood Creek Saturday in Orangeville, leaving behind mud, trees, debris and significant damage.
Local officials say they are now preparing for another round of potentially heavy rain and the possibility that additional flooding could be even worse.
Emery County Sheriff Tyson Huntington said the amount of water that came through the area Saturday was unlike anything he has seen in his lifetime.
“I think we planned for the level of 3,500 CFS [cubic feet per second] of water coming through here and it was way over that on Saturday,” Huntington said. “The most we’ve ever seen.”
Huntington said longtime residents he spoke with also could not remember seeing water at that level.
He said burn scars from previous fires, along with the most recent burn area, contributed to the amount of trees and other debris carried downstream. That debris collected and created what officials described as a debris dam, backing water up and contributing to flooding in the area.
Crews brought in heavy equipment to clear the debris, loading it into dump trucks one after another.
The force of the water is still visible throughout the area. A fence was ripped out after debris came rushing down the road, and properties along Cottonwood Creek were inundated.
Emery County hit hard by flash floods:
For Orangeville resident Glynn Ussery, the flooding hit home — literally.
Ussery has lived along Cottonwood Creek for more than 30 years and said he had never experienced a flood like this. A wall of water roughly four feet high pushed into his home Saturday, carrying mud, trees and other debris with it.
“We’ve never had a flood before, but this — this is bad,” Ussery said.
He said he was also surprised to learn his homeowners insurance would not cover the damage.
“We thought we had insurance, but we called them today and none,” he said.
Now, Ussery is facing what he expects will be a long cleanup.
“The work has just begun,” he said.
The response to Saturday’s flooding has included emergency crews, as well as community members who were not directly affected.
Huntington said the response from residents and others who came to help was especially encouraging.
“It was unreal the response here we had from other people — people that weren’t affected — really pretty cool to see all that,” Huntington said.
Officials are also preparing for more rain.
Huntington said inmates at the Emery County Jail spent six or seven hours filling hundreds of sandbags in preparation for another potential round of floodwaters.
“We’re waiting for round two, hoping it’s not as bad as it was, but it’s forecasted that it could be worse,” Huntington said. “So we’re just hoping for the best right now.”
Officials at the Huntington Power Plant have also been told to prepare for the possibility of a major storm.
Homeowners say they'll just wait and see but are hoping they get missed.
“We’re about as prepared as we can get,” Ussery said. “I hope it’s not as big as that one was. Four foot of water hit my house; another four foot of water might push it over.”
Huntington said the county is relying on county and state funding to help with the cleanup and hopes federal assistance could eventually be available as well.
He said officials were expecting Emery County to declare a disaster because of the weekend flooding along Cottonwood Creek, although it was not yet clear whether the damage would meet federal thresholds for assistance.
For now, crews are continuing to clear debris and prepare for whatever comes next.
“We’re more prepared than we ever have,” Huntington said. “We’re just hoping we can handle the storm if it’s bigger than we expect.”
